Here are your morning headlines for Tuesday, August 20:
- Summit County gets nursing home task force;
- CWRU to use grant for opioid training;
- FirstEnergy Solutions set to emerge from bankruptcy;
- Cuyahoga County jail official pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges;
- Former coach who stopped Chardon shooter runs for public office;
- Amazon to hire thousands at Euclid center;
- Ballot effort to challenge Medina LGTBQ ordinance fails;
- Former Ohio Secretary of State runs for Ohio Supreme Court;
- Akron musician Kofi Boakye receives Russ Pry Youth Award;
- Cleveland urges public to learn about motor scooters before they arrive;
Summit County former nursing home task force
Summit County Council has voted to form a nursing home task force. The idea was proposed after a federal agency named the Fairlawn Rehab and Nursing Center in Copley among the worst in the nation. It has voluntary agreed to close next month. The task force will look at state and federal regulations to determine how the county can work toward improving the conditions and practices at local facilities. Members will include County Executive Ilene Shapiro, along with county health and social services representatives, nursing home executives and residents, among others. It will issue recommendations to council in six months.
CWRU to use grant for opioid training
Case Western University will use a $1 million grant to train 65 students to treat opioid abuse and addiction. Crain's Cleveland reports the positions will be awarded to students in social work and nursing fields. The grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration will allow the students to focus on primary care, behavioral health and substance-abuse prevention. Students are required to agree to remain in the field after they graduate.
FirstEnergy Solutions set to emerge from bankruptcy
Akron-based First Energy Solutions is poised to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday. There’s a hearing in Akron to confirm whether all required bankruptcy code elements have been met by the unregulated generation arm of electric utility FirstEnergy Corp. A majority of creditors earlier this month approved the reorganization plan after an initial filing was denied by a federal judge in April. The company filed for Chapter 11 last year as part of a plan to return to being a fully-regulated electric utility.
Cuyahoga County jail official pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges
The Cuyahoga County jail’s associate warden accused of ordering a corrections officer to turn off his body camera after an inmate's fatal overdose and lying about it has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. Eric Ivey, 54, of Euclid, was demoted from warden to associate warden in February after an internal investigation found he violated the county's nepotism policy. Ivey agreed in the plea deal to resign. He also agreed to cooperate with investigators and testify in ongoing investigations into jail conditions and county government operations. Ivey could get be sentenced up to a year in jail.
Former coach who stopped Chardon shootier runs for public office
Six years after he was credited with halting a school shooting in Chardon, Frank Hall is running for public office. Cleveland.com reports the former assistant football coach and study hall teacher at Chardon High School is running in the Republican primary for the 76th district, which includes parts of Geauga and Portage counties. Incumbent Diane Grendell was appointed to the seat earlier this year after Sarah Latourette stepped down for a position in the DeWine administration. In 2012, Hall charged the shooter, who then ran from the building. Hall said he’s running to be an advocate for school safety and improving rural Ohio.
Amazon to hire thousands at Euclid center
Amazon will hire 2,000 employees for its newest fulfillment center in Euclid. The 650,000-square-foot facility is located on the former site of the Euclid Square Mall. Employees will pick, pack and ship items like electronics, books, housewares and toys to customers. The company will offer a $15 minimum wage with benefits.
Ballot effort to challenge Medina LGTBQ ordinance fails
An effort to challenge Medina's LGBTQ anti-discrimination ordinance failed to get enough signatures to make it on the November 2020 ballot. Cleveland.com reports the group Concerned Citizens of Medina Committee wanted voters to decide the measure. Medina City Council passed the anti-discrimination ordinance last month, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, expression or sexual orientation in housing, employment and public accommodations.
Former Ohio Secretary of State runs for Ohio Supreme Court
Former Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has announced she’s running for the Ohio Supreme Court. Brunner is currently a state appellate judge in Franklin County. She joins Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell in the Democratic field challenging two seats currently held by Republican Justices Sharon Kennedy and Judith French. The stakes are high for these races in 2020, as the Ohio Supreme Court would hear any legal challenges to the new state legislative lines re-drawn in 2021 and the court could play a role in issues like abortion.
Akron musician Kofi Boakye receives Russ Pry Youth Award
Akron musician Kofi Boakye, 19, has been named this year’s Russ Pry Youth Award winner. Named after the late Summit County executive, the award recognizes an individual under 21 who has worked to improve the lives of young people. Boakye had worked with Pry to create the “Humble & Have No Fear” project, an advocacy campaign that included a commercial aimed to discourage gun violence in Northeast Ohio. Boakye begins classes this fall at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Cleveland urges public to learn about motor scooters before they arrive
The city of Cleveland is encouraging the public to learn how to operate electric scooters before they begin appearing on downtown streets. Last week, the city approved licenses for four vendors: Bird, Lime, Spin and VeoRide. They'll be available to rent by the end of the month, after the city banned them last year amid safety concerns. Experts will be available at four meetings this week to share safety information. The safety events are:
- Tuesday, Aug. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Colonel Young Park
- Wednesday, Aug. 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Toby’s Plaza
- Thursday, Aug. 22 from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Mall C
- Saturday, Aug. 24 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Market Square Park
